Grousing
by forensicsfan
Summary: COMPLETE Nick and Sara get together to vent after Catherine is given their high profile case to work.
1. Default Chapter

"She knows I can do this case." Sara groused to Nick.  
  
Without meeting her gaze, he replied evenly. "So can I." He continued to study the file in front of him.  
  
Sara wrinkled her brow and considered his words. She had been so caught up in her own hurt in the situation that she hadn't considered Nick's feelings. They both had worked the original missing persons case, and they both were up for a promotion. Having the case taken away from them like this by Grissom and given to Catherine was tantamount to a slap in the face professionally. "You know, I would take you and I over Catherine and Greg any day."  
  
Nick glanced up at her, and it was evident that there was tension in his jaw. "She has Greg working the case?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
For a moment, Sara thought Nick was going to lose it. Instead he let out a deep breath and began to mutter that Greg needed field experience and if he helped them find the girl, then it was ok. Sara could tell he was just as pissed off as she was, and for some reason, that made him all that much more irresistible.  
  
They both buckled down and worked the case, helping Catherine and Greg where they needed them. Both of them knew that the bottom line was getting the perp behind bars. Catherine would be the one that would get to bask in the glory and they would have to be content with the knowledge that their work found the body, and helped to crack the case. Not that either of them would be on departmental radar as far as the promotion they were both vying for was concerned. With Grissom's dismissal of them on this case in favor of Catherine's years of experience, they could probably both kiss the promotion goodbye.  
  
Sara was in the locker room muttering to herself, still pissed off at Catherine and Grissom when Nick walked in.  
  
A faint smile tugged at his lips. Sara wore her heart on her sleeve when she was angry. He had tried to keep it contained and stay professional during the course of this case. He stepped up to his locker and opened it, glancing over at her. "Hey."  
  
She glanced over at him and a glimmer of a smile crossed her face. "Hey." She shut her locker and let out a deep breath.  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow at her. "Wanna come over for a beer? I'll let you bitch all you want to."  
  
Sara chuckled in spite of herself. "Yeah. I could use a beer or two."  
  
Nick shut his locker and the pair made their way out to the parking lot. "See you in a few." Nick climbed into his Denali and headed home. Sara wasn't too far behind.  
  
As they made their way into his house, Nick headed straight to the kitchen and pulled two beers out of his fridge and removed the caps, handing one to Sara.  
  
Sara took a long swig from the bottle and followed Nick into his living room where he sat down on the couch and turned the TV on. A Discovery Channel special on the vegetation of Southeast Asia was on. Sara glanced over at him and smiled. "With as many channels as you have, do you ever watch anything besides the Discovery Channel?"  
  
Nick grinned. "Yes, Ms. Sidle, I do. However, I was watching a documentary on the night of the pifflings and didn't bother to switch it to a more manly station before I left for work." Nick turned the TV off. A decidedly embarrassed expression was on his face.  
  
Sara giggled in spite of herself, taking another long swig from her beer. "You know, you'd think you and I had the plague the way the rest of the team has been treating us lately."  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow, taking a sip from his beer before commenting. "So, I take it that was your segue into the bitchfest."  
  
Sara smirked. "You did say I could bitch as much as I wanted."  
  
He nodded, a smile forming on his lips. "Yes, I did. I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss a word. Bitch away." He took another sip from his beer and settled in to listen to Sara.  
  
"You know, we're damn fine CSIs. I don't know what the hell their problem is. I actually overheard Catherine telling Grissom that he should be harder on me. Who the hell does she think she is? I ask the man out to dinner, he turns me down and suddenly, it's as if I did a striptease in his office and propositioned him or something."  
  
Nick chuckled at the mental image.  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow. "What?"  
  
Nick tried to restrain a grin. "Just the image of you doing a striptease."  
  
"You find that funny?" Sara sounded a little indignant.  
  
Nick shook his head. "Definitely not funny. Sounds sexy as hell."  
  
Sara felt her stomach flip and stared at him for a moment before continuing. "Well, in any case, the man has hardly said two civil words to me since then and Catherine seems to have taken up some banner against me. Warrick isn't much better, and now they've got Greg working out in the field. He isn't even a CSI. I've worked my ass off and we get shelved in favor of Catherine and a trainee on a high profile case that is ours."  
  
Nick nodded. "It sucks."  
  
Sara took another sip from her beer. "I mean, you and I are both up for a promotion. If we'd gotten to finish working the case, we might have a chance at getting it. As of now, I'd say our chances were flushed down the toilet."  
  
"Yeah, and Grissom pulled the handle." Nick mussed.  
  
Sara chuckled. "You're just as pissed as I am."  
  
"You got that right." Nick answered her draining the last of the beer from the bottle. He stood up and glanced down at Sara. "Want another one?"  
  
She tipped the bottle up and drank the last traces. "Yeah."  
  
Nick returned a few moments later with another bottle of beer for each of them. He handed one to her and sat back down.  
  
Sara glanced at him. "So, if you're so pissed off, why don't you act like it?"  
  
Nick chuckled as he looked at her, slinging an arm around her shoulder. "Sara, it's like this. I don't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing how much they've pissed me off. Because the second they know that, they've won."  
  
Sara leaned her head back against his shoulder. "So, you're saying that every time they see how much they've pissed me off, that just makes them want to piss me off all the more."  
  
"Maybe not consciously." He commented.  
  
Sara furrowed her brow. "That really pisses me off."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Sara, a lot of things piss you off. That's part of what makes you, you."  
  
She took a sip from her beer and shot him an accusing look. "So you think I'm a bitch then?"  
  
Nick tightened his grip on her shoulder and shook his head. "No, Sara, you're not a bitch. You just happen to wear your heart on your sleeve when you feel injustice. And quite frankly, this situation reeks of injustice. For you and for me. Grissom knew we could handle that case, and he knows we both want that promotion."  
  
"He's an asshole." Sara muttered.  
  
"Now that's something I'm not sure I would have expected out of Sara Sidle six months ago." Nick was mildly amused.  
  
She chuckled softly. "Well, it's true. He is an asshole." She took another sip from her beer.  
  
Nick studied her for a moment. "Hey, I know I said you could bitch as much as you wanted to, but don't you think it would be more fun to do something else?"  
  
She glanced up at him with a curious expression, her tone was decidedly sarcastic. "What could be more fun than this? I'm sitting here with hard body Nick Stokes drinking beer. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll get you drunk enough that you'll give me a striptease." Though her tone was sarcastic, Sara was only half joking.  
  
Nick let out a low chuckle and looked directly at her, calling her bluff. "You first, Sidle."  
  
They were venturing into new and very dangerous territory. They'd flirted shamelessly with each other since the day they'd met, they'd even made suggestive comments to each other, but there was something in each of their voices that made the other realize that there was a bit of seriousness in their comments.  
  
Sara turned to face Nick, studying his demeanor. "Let me get this straight. You want me to do a striptease for you."  
  
Nick's eyes seemed to smolder as he looked at her. "Can you blame me? You're sexy as hell, Sara. I've always wondered what you look like naked." He took another swig of his beer.  
  
Sara swallowed hard and she felt her stomach do something akin to a triple flip with a half twist. She considered her words carefully as she looked at him. "Would you do one for me?"  
  
Nick realized that she was serious and his eyes widened as he choked on his beer. "You're serious."  
  
She raised an eyebrow at him defensively. "You just told me that you wanted to see me naked."  
  
Nick set his beer down, still trying to fathom that she wanted him to take his clothes off in front of her and suddenly he could feel that a certain part of his anatomy was beginning to like the idea. "You're the one who brought up the striptease to begin with."  
  
Sara took another quick sip from her beer and turned away from him. "Uh, forget I said anything." She could feel her pulse quicken and at the moment the room seemed extraordinarily warm.  
  
Nick shook his head and reached for her arm. "Uh, uh. You can't just expect me to forget that you just asked me to strip for you." A smile played at his lips.  
  
Sara took a long swig from her beer and turned to look him straight in the eye. "Ok, so I wouldn't mind seeing you naked." Her tone was defensive.  
  
"Ok." He just grinned at her.  
  
She studied him for a moment and plunged ahead. "But if I get naked for you and you get naked for me, then what?"  
  
Nick had amusement written all over his face. "Anything you want, Sara. Anything you want."  
  
Sara's eyebrows shot up as she realized what he was suggesting. "This is dangerous territory."  
  
Nick chuckled. "Agreed. But can you honestly say you've never once thought about what it would be like for us to have sex?"  
  
"It would change everything." Sara couldn't keep her eyes off of him, and the fact that they were still having this conversation bewildered her.  
  
Nick took another sip from his beer. "Would that be a bad thing?"  
  
Momentary panic flashed across Sara's face. "I don't know. Besides, do you really think this is the best thing to be talking about while we're drinking?"  
  
Nick chuckled. "Sara, we've both had a beer and a half. We're not drunk, if that's what you're implying."  
  
Sara was quiet for a moment and took another sip from her beer.  
  
Nick let out a deep breath. "You want me to go out on a limb, fine, I'll go out on a limb. You know I care about you as a friend, but I also think you're sexy as hell, and I'd be lying if I said that I haven't wondered what things would be like if we decided to be more than just friends."  
  
Sara's face reflected a bit of shock. She had no idea that Nick felt the same way she did.  
  
Nick mistook her expression for rejection and was immediately apologetic. "Sorry, I said anything."  
  
Sara shook her head. "Don't apologize. I just didn't expect you to feel the same way I do."  
  
Nick's jaw dropped slightly. After a few moments a smile took over his face and he let out a deep chuckle. "Hell, woman, if I had known that, I would have said something a long time ago. Do you have any idea how turned on I get just being in the same room with you?"  
  
Sara glanced at his crotch, which still seemed to be struggling against the confines of his slacks, and tried to stifle a grin. "I've got a pretty good idea."  
  
Nick's eyes followed her gaze downward and as he looked back up he didn't look the least bit embarrassed, he just grinned at the effect she was having on him. "Still want me to give you a striptease?" 


	2. Hmmm

"It all depends." Sara replied with a slightly amused expression on her face. "Depends on what?" Nick asked curiously.  
  
"Whether or not you're going to tease me." Sara smirked at him.  
  
He chuckled and raised his eyebrow in amusement. "Are you going to tease me?"  
  
"Depends." Sara deadpanned. She took a sip from her beer then set it on the coffee table.  
  
"On what, Sidle?" Nick's curiosity was piqued.  
  
She chuckled and then let out a deep breath before her expression turned serious. "If we're just friends, then I'm not sure it's a good idea to tease each other like that."  
  
Nick's expression was equally serious. "What if we're not just friends?"  
  
Sara reached out and fingered one of the buttons on his shirt before looking at him. "Well, that would be different." She smiled. "But we haven't established that yet, have we?"  
  
He shook his head and began to smile, his hand rested on her thigh. "We could do something about that."  
  
She put her hand on top of his as it rested there. "We could. What did you have in mind?" Her eyes were locked with his.  
  
His thumb began to caress her thigh. "Oh, maybe I could start with asking if you wanted start dating."  
  
Sara's smile was electric. "That would be a good place to start."  
  
Nick scooted closer to Sara. "Did you have something else in mind?" His eyes glanced at her lips.  
  
Sara began angling her face towards his glancing from his lips to eyes and back again. "If we're not just friends anymore there are a few things we might try."  
  
"Mmmn." Nick leaned down and kissed her softly. "Like that?"  
  
Sara nodded and moved in to kiss him again. "Yeah." She splayed her hand out on his chest.  
  
Nick smiled against Sara's lips. "I think we can do better than that."  
  
She giggled. "Oh, really?"  
  
He nodded. "Uh, huh." He continued caressing her thigh and with his other hand he tangled his fingers in her hair.  
  
As they broke apart for a moment, Sara's voice was husky. "That was pretty good."  
  
"Pretty good? What about great?" Nick countered.  
  
"We could try for great." Sara grinned as Nick's hand moved from her thigh to rest on her hip. She leaned forward and met his open mouth with hers in a mind numbing kiss.  
  
As they pulled apart, Nick rested his forehead against hers. "How was that?"  
  
Sara was a bit breathless. "Pretty damn good."  
  
Nick chuckled softly. "So we're still not at great yet." Nick pulled Sara in for another hungry kiss.  
  
Sara slid and arm around Nick's neck and as she did, he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her against him so she straddled his lap. She could feel quite distinctly how turned on Nick was. They both felt as if they'd been launched into orbit by the time they pulled apart to breathe.  
  
Sara was quite breathless. "Now that was great."  
  
Nick began mumbling as he started planting kisses on her neck. "What do you want to do now? Do you still want me to give you a striptease?"  
  
Sara could feel her heartbeat quicken as Nick continued to press his lips against her neck. "If you're going to strip, I'd rather you didn't tease me, otherwise we'd better go back to beer and bitching."  
  
Nick stopped kissing her neck and laid his head against the back of the couch. A low chuckled escaped his lips. "The last thing I want to do is tease you." He studied her for a moment as his hands caressed her hips. A serious expression crossed his face. "Are we moving too fast?"  
  
Sara was still a bit breathless. "I don't know. Maybe." Her lips were a bit swollen from his kisses.  
  
Nick looked directly into her eyes. "Talking about having sex is a whole lot different from us actually doing it."  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm not exactly an innocent, Nick."  
  
Nick smiled at her. "I wasn't saying you were. I just wonder if maybe this is too soon for us to cross that bridge as much as I really want to right now."  
  
A smirk flashed across Sara's lips. "I can tell you want to." She leaned down and kissed him softly. "I want to."  
  
"Sara." Nick's voice was husky.  
  
Sara rested her forehead against his. "Nick, we've known each other for three and a half years. I want this; I can tell you want this. Maybe it is too soon, but then again, maybe it's not." As she talked, she unbuttoned Nick's shirt.  
  
Nick slid his hands from her waist to her butt and leaned in to seize her lips with his in a searing kiss.  
  
Sara began unbuttoning her own shirt, finally shrugging it off behind her before sliding her hands down Nick's chest and pressing her body against his. She broke their kiss and began to plant kisses against his neck. Her fingers began to unfasten his belt and she could feel that Nick's arousal had intensified beneath her.  
  
Nick let out a moan. "Oh, Sara."  
  
Sara giggled against his neck. "You like that, Nicky?" She unbuttoned the top of his jeans and began to tug the zipper down when a knock sounded at the door.  
  
They both froze for a moment and Nick muttered under his breath. "Maybe they'll go away."  
  
The knock sounded again, and Sara leaned past Nick to peak through the heavy wooden slats of his closed blinds. A slightly panicked expression crossed her face. "It's Greg."  
  
Nick wrapped his arms around Sara's waist and lifted them both off of the couch. As he set her down he looked into her eyes. "Can you take care of him, while I take care of this?" He gestured downwards.  
  
A grin spread across Sara's face and she tried to stifle a chuckle. "You don't think he'd want to watch?"  
  
Nick started to chuckle as he reached down and picked Sara's shirt up. "That's the problem, he probably would."  
  
Sara took the shirt and leaned up to kiss him. "We'll finish this later."  
  
"Count on it." Nick grinned as he gingerly walked across the room and disappeared into the bathroom. 


	3. Don't Tease Me

Greg had a look of surprise on his face when Sara opened the door. "Sara." "Hey, Greg." Sara hoped her face wasn't flushed from her and Nick's activities only moments before.  
  
"Where's Nick?" Greg looked at her curiously.  
  
Sara gestured with her thumb. "Bathroom. Too much beer apparently." She grinned at Greg conspiratorially as she opened the door to let him in.  
  
Greg chuckled and glanced around the living room as he walked in. He noticed several bottles of beer on the coffee table in front of the couch. He turned toward Sara and raised an eyebrow in question. "You and Nick just hanging out?"  
  
"Something like that." Sara replied heading toward the kitchen to get another beer. She held one up in her hand and gestured toward Greg. "You want one?"  
  
He shook his head and took his hands out of his pockets as he watched Sara walk into the kitchen. She pulled two more beers out of the fridge for her and Nick and walked over toward the couch. Greg followed and stood nearby, fidgeting nervously. As she sat down, Nick finally emerged from the bathroom. She glanced at him briefly and tried to stifle a smile as she noticed things in his pants had returned to normal. She made a mental note to ask him exactly how he'd made that happen as she stood up and handed him the beer she'd pulled for him out of the fridge.  
  
"Greg." Nick greeted as he took the beer Sara offered him.  
  
"Nick." Greg stood there nervously and looked as if he had something on his mind. "Actually, I'm glad you're both here. I just wanted to make sure there weren't any hard feelings about the case."  
  
Sara sat back on the couch and raised both of her eyebrows at Nick while Greg's back was to her. Nick simply smiled. "No problem, Greg. That's the way things go sometimes. Glad you had a chance to get some field experience." He took a swig from his beer.  
  
Greg noticed Sara hadn't said anything. He turned to face her. "Uh, Sara, I really had nothing to do with this."  
  
Sara let out a chuckle. "Greg, I'm well aware of that. It all worked out."  
  
Greg turned back to Nick. "I just wanted to make sure every thing was cool."  
  
"Yeah, we're cool, man." Nick replied, catching a glimpse of Sara taking a swig from her beer and then grinning at him as she began to lick the neck of the bottle in an almost obscene fashion. Greg was oblivious to what was going on behind him. Nick could feel the heat in the room rising and he wasn't quite sure how he was going to get rid of Greg any time soon.  
  
Sara looked completely innocent as Greg turned to face her. "Uh, Sara, I uh, just wanted to know if maybe we could get together sometime and talk about the case. I mean, you being the most brilliant CSI on the team and all."  
  
It was all Sara could do to answer him without laughing as Nick set his beer down and began flexing and posing behind Greg. "Uh, sure."  
  
Greg grinned at her. "So, it's a date then."  
  
Nick had to restrain his laughter as he saw panic register on Sara's face.  
  
She glanced at Nick looking for help, but all she got from him were raised eyebrows and a hip shimmy. She sputtered as she looked at Greg. "Uh, no, not a date, Greg. We can talk about the case, but no date."  
  
Greg's expression sagged a bit. "Well, it was worth a shot." Greg turned toward Nick who had nicely recovered and was trying to act natural. "Warrick was talking about us all catching the game this Sunday. You in?"  
  
"Uh, I'll have to check my schedule." Nick thought about that for a second and it was all he could do to maintain a normal expression as Sara set her beer down and then raised her arms over her head and arched her back in an exaggerated stretch, knowing full well that her shirt would ride up and expose her midriff. There was a mischievous smile on her face as she ran her hands down her body under the guise of smoothing out her shirt.  
  
Greg chuckled. "Hot date?" Greg turned his attention back to Sara who was feigning a yawn to cover up her smile. "Long shift, huh?" He grinned at her.  
  
Sara just nodded and tried not to look at Nick who was gyrating his hips in an Elvis-like fashion and mouthing 'I want you'.  
  
Greg gestured toward Nick as he turned back toward him. "Can you believe this ladies man? Always reeling in another girl."  
  
Nick recovered just in time and had crossed his arms in front of his chest, raising an eyebrow at Greg. "Hey, man, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have a reputation, most of which is you spreading rumors."  
  
Sara couldn't help but giggle, drawing Greg's attention once again. Nick meanwhile was flexing and grinning at Sara. Greg turned just as Nick struck a pose. Nick did his best to act natural as Greg's face reflected a 'what the hell?' expression. The quirky lab tech suddenly felt like a third wheel. "Uh, I should probably go."  
  
Nick could see that Sara was about to say something and his gut told him she was about to invite Greg to stay. He shot her a look and shook his head, instead he walked over to Greg putting his arm around the lab tech's shoulder and leading him toward the front door. "Sorry you can't stay man, but Sara and I actually have another case that we're discussing right now."  
  
"Oh, uh, ok." Greg had a slightly bewildered expression as he was practically shoved out the front door.  
  
Sara looked thoroughly amused as Nick stalked back towards the couch. "That was really subtle."  
  
He smirked at her as he stood next to the couch. "Oh, and what you were doing behind his back wasn't?"  
  
She chuckled. "You're one to talk. Besides, I was just trying to get your attention." She reached over and took his hand, pulling him down onto the couch next to her.  
  
"You have my attention. And I would have gotten Greg's too if you'd kept it up." Nick teased gesturing toward his pants.  
  
"Well, don't worry, Greg likes girls." Sara grinned.  
  
Nick chuckled. "I wasn't worried about that. What I was worried about was trying to explain to him that it wasn't him I was happy to see."  
  
Sara leaned toward him, a smirk on her face. "So, how did you get things back to normal anyway?" She reached over and slid her hand up his thigh with a glint in her eye.  
  
Nick tried to swallow his grin and couldn't help but laugh. "It's not what you're implying, Sidle."  
  
Sara feigned innocence. "Oh, and what would that be, Mr. Stokes?" She tilted her head slightly to the side to emphasize her point.  
  
He shook his head and grinned. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a reply."  
  
"Why not?" Sara feigned a pout.  
  
Nick chuckled in amusement. "Do you really want to spend the rest of the day talking about this, Sidle?"  
  
She giggled and shook her head. "No, I'm not really in the mood to talk."  
  
He raised both eyebrows. "Oh, and what are you in the mood for?" He was clearly amused by their line of conversation.  
  
She reached up and trailed her fingers down the buttons of his shirt. "I seem to recall we were in the middle of something before Greg stopped by." Her eyes were fixed on his lips as she leaned toward him and softly kissed him.  
  
As they broke the kiss, Nick rested his forehead against Sara's. His voice was husky. "Why don't we move this into the other room?" He leaned in and kissed her again. "I really don't want our first time together to be on the couch." He stood up and took her hand, leading her toward the bedroom. As they stood in front of the bed, Nick pulled her against him and leaned down to kiss her.  
  
Sara pushed him away and shook her head, a playful smile on her lips. "Sit down."  
  
He looked at her curiously, but complied, sitting on the end of the bed. "Ok."  
  
She smirked. "I seem to recall you wanted a striptease."  
  
Nick grinned and raised his eyebrows. "Only if you promise not to tease me."  
  
Sara raised a single eyebrow. "I won't tease you if you promise to do one for me. That's the deal, remember?"  
  
He nodded and his grin widened. "I remember."  
  
Sara began to slowly unbutton her shirt, swiveling her hips in a sultry dance. Piece by piece her clothes were dropped to the floor until she stood before Nick with nothing but a smile on.  
  
He was completely mesmerized and it took him a minute to realize that Sara had taken his hands and pulled him to a standing position. She pressed her lips against his and then pulled back, tilting her head and smiling as she waggled her eyebrows. "It's your turn, sexy."  
  
She didn't give him a chance to touch her; she slipped past him and climbed into the bed, pulling the covers over her lower body as she leaned against the headboard to watch him, her crossed arms covering her breasts.  
  
He turned to face her and began to slowly remove his clothes, never taking his eyes off of her as he drank in the sight of her in his bed. When he was finished, he joined her, climbing under the covers and leaning against the headboard next to her, just staring, almost afraid to touch her, finally realizing that the moment was real when she reached out to trace his jaw line with her fingertip. He broke out of his reverie and smiled. "You're beautiful, Sara."  
  
She smiled at him. "You're pretty incredible yourself."  
  
Nick leaned in and kissed her softly, his hand finally reaching out to touch her hip, his fingers enjoying the sensation of her bare skin.  
  
They began slowly at first; almost tentative. Then their kisses deepened and their hands began to roam freely as they explored and touched, aroused and teased. Nick pressed Sara back into the mattress as he lay on top of her, both of them enjoying the sensation of their bare flesh pressed together. Nick gripped her hips as they came together; their eyes locking as they felt wave after wave of pleasure washing over them, finally collapsing against each other as they reached mind blowing ecstasy. They fell asleep tangled together in each others arms.  
  
~The End~  
  
A/N: Sorry, had to end sometime. 


End file.
